The Way Of The Christian

I Am the Way: Danny Hahlbohm

Back in the early days of my return to my faith, my friend who was largely responsible for that return asked me one day: If I were to sum up my faith in one or two sentences, what would I say? I remember my answer to him, and I remember that it came almost without a split second's thought. I responded with the line from today's Gospel (John 14:1~6) where Jesus tells us that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life...
If you had asked me then why I had responded that way, I am not sure I would have been able to answer, but after almost ten years, I have seen the answer revealed by Jesus ever so slowly and gently (although not always easily). He has shown me that the only way to peace, true freedom and real joy is His Way; the only Truth is He Himself and it is an absolute Truth, and if we follow His Way and believe in Him as Truth, then we are led to the only life that matters~ Life in and with Christ.
In his homily at Mass today, the priest posed the question as to whether Jesus said these words to Thomas as a matter of fact, or as a means of trying to convince the Apostles. My thoughts on that are that in reading the Gospels, it is clear that Jesus never minced words, and He did not need to convince anyone of anything. So while I see His words as definitely a matter of fact, I also see them as an invitation. He invites us to Himself and ultimately to the Father by telling us that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
A line from today's meditation in Magnificat sums this up quite nicely: "The Christian life is a journey in communion with others in Jesus Christ." (Fr. P. Dalmazio Mongillo, O.P.)
We can accept Jesus' invitation or not, but if we do we will find that He is there, along with our other Christian brothers and sisters, walking the journey with us.

Comments

Nancy said…
Karinann...excellent post! I'm going to think about how I would answer the same question....thank you!
Unknown said…
Thanks Nancy. Glad you liked the post and that it provoked some thought. God bless.
Mary N. said…
This is a favorite passage of mine too, Karin. The power and truth of those words can sink into a person's heart and this is one I meditate on often. When I have doubts, when I'm confused or feel like I am backsliding a bit they help set my feet firmly back in Him. I like to say them out loud for some reason :)

Thanks for this beautiful post!God bless!
Unknown said…
Thanks Colleen and Mary. Yes these few lines of Scripture give so much food for thought and meditation.
Daily Grace said…
I like the thought of Jesus words as an invitation as well as fact too.
When I read your words, I imagined his arms open to me. Our Gentle Savior is always so inviting...why are we so slow to respond?!

Great reflection.
He does not ask us to understand. He asks us to believe and trust Him.

God bless.
Unknown said…
DG,
I like that imagery of Our Savior's open arms.

Victor, thank goodness we don't need to understand.

Blessings to you both.
Patricia said…
Karin, so much power in those words...what else does He really need to say, to tell us all that He is!

Thank you for a beautiful reflection.

Blessings!
Unknown said…
I agree, Patricia. Thanks for commenting. Glad you liked the reflection. God bless.